Risk Management Cheat Sheet

Risk Management — Quick Reference

Risk Management Process

1. Plan Risk Management — Define how to conduct risk activities
2. Identify Risks — Document individual risks and overall project risk
3. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis — Prioritize risks by probability and impact
4. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis — Numerically analyze combined effect of risks
5. Plan Risk Responses — Develop strategies to address risks
6. Implement Risk Responses — Execute the planned strategies
7. Monitor Risks — Track identified risks and identify new ones

Risk Response Strategies

Strategy	For Threats	For Opportunities
Eliminate/Capture	Avoid (remove the cause)	Exploit (ensure it happens)
Transfer/Share	Transfer (shift to third party)	Share (partner to capture)
Reduce/Increase	Mitigate (reduce probability/impact)	Enhance (increase probability/impact)
Accept	Active (contingency) or Passive	Active or Passive
Escalate	Above project authority	Above project authority

Key Risk Tools

• Probability-Impact Matrix — Prioritize risks on a grid
• Risk Register — Central document for all risk information
• Decision Tree — Expected Monetary Value analysis (EMV = P × I)
• Monte Carlo Simulation — Model probability distributions
• Sensitivity Analysis (Tornado Diagram) — Identify which risks have the most impact
• SWOT Analysis — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Risk Definitions

• Risk — An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect
• Trigger — An event or situation that indicates a risk has occurred or is about to occur
• Residual Risk — Risk remaining after response strategies are applied
• Secondary Risk — A new risk created by implementing a risk response
• Workaround — An unplanned response to a risk that has occurred without a planned response